By naming a board to oversee the public safety licensee to be created in the 700 MHz band the FCC will “strengthen the link” between the public and first responders, the National Emergency Number Association said Monday. NENA is one of 11 members of the board announced by the FCC in a 321- page July 31 order outlining band plan and service rules for the 700 MHz spectrum becoming available in 2009 when broadcasters leave it. Nine board members will represent public safety and government groups: The Association of Public Safety Communications Officials, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Fire Chiefs, the National Sheriffs’ Association, the International City/County Management Association, the National Governor’s Association, the National Public Safety Telecommunications Council, the National Association of State Emergency Medical Services Officials and NENA. The other two will be chosen by the FCC’s Public Safety Bureau and the Wireless Bureau. The FCC order said makeup of the board, which will have voting power over the public safety licensee’s decisions, “ensures that local public safety agencies and governments will continue to have a voice in the use of the 700 MHz public safety broadband spectrum, as the overwhelming number of first responders are local government employees or volunteers.” The public safety licensee will operate in partnership with the licensee getting one of the commercial spectrum blocks to be auctioned next year. (See separate item in this issue.) - - EH
Wireless Spectrum Auctions
The FCC manages and licenses the electromagnetic spectrum used by wireless, broadcast, satellite and other telecommunications services for government and commercial users. This activity includes organizing specific telecommunications modes to only use specific frequencies and maintaining the licensing systems for each frequency such that communications services and devices using different bands receive as little interference as possible.
What are spectrum auctions?
The FCC will periodically hold auctions of unused or newly available spectrum frequencies, in which potential licensees can bid to acquire the rights to use a specific frequency for a specific purpose. As an example, over the last few years the U.S. government has conducted periodic auctions of different GHz bands to support the growth of 5G services.
Language in the FCC’s roaming order, released last week after approval at an Aug. 7 meeting, could spell trouble for carriers who bought spectrum in the advanced wireless services auction (AWS) and now must wait for the spectrum to be cleared to build out their systems, officials said. The sweeping wording of the text was broader than some feared, based on comments at the FCC meeting (CD Aug 8 p1).
FCC Chairman Kevin Martin circulated an order that would put an abrupt end to M2Z’s effort to build a free, nationwide wireless broadband network in the 2.1 GHz band. Martin has asked fellow commissioners for a quick vote. Meanwhile, M2Z put the FCC on notice that it will seek a writ of mandamus in federal court that would force the FCC to act on its petition. M2Z will tell the court that the FCC was statutorily required to make a public interest determination on its license application by May 5, 2007 but hasn’t issued it.
The blend of spectrum, platform and business model being designed by Mobile Satellite Ventures for the L-band still is “a viable option,” MSV CEO Alexander Good said Tuesday in an earnings call. The L-band is a single nationwide license. The 700 MHz spectrum, except for the public-private partnership, will be auctioned in regional or smaller chunks. L-band users don’t occupy the same spectrum as broadcasters and other high-power users, he said.
The founder of EchoStar says he “wouldn’t bet the ranch” that the DTV transition will happen on schedule. Charles Ergen said he believes politicians will blink as the Feb. 18, 2009, deadline approaches. “No politician is going to want to take the oath of office” with people about to lose their TVs, he said. The digital transition helps EchoStar’s Dish network, because cable has to move customers from analog to digital before they can take advantage of digital and HD programming, he said.
Sprint Nextel’s wireless subscriber base shot up second quarter, but high costs hurt total income, Sprint revealed Wednesday in its Q2 results. In a morning conference call, Sprint officials gave updates on the Qualcomm-Broadcom dispute, Clearwire partnership, 800 MHz rebanding and its cable joint venture.
The FCC voted Tuesday to require carriers to offer automatic roaming to other carriers’ customers on a just, reasonable, and non-discriminatory basis, applying Communications Act sections 201 and 202 to roaming. The requirement includes data that touches the Public Switched Telecom Network, such as text messages, and push-to-talk service. The FCC also agreed to launch a rulemaking examining whether to extend the protections to all data, including wireless broadband, a major concern of some small carriers.
RALEIGH, N.C. -- Taking his 700-MHz band auction show on the road, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin passionately defended the Commission’s adoption of open access requirements as helping consumers and innovation. Speaking at a North Carolina Chamber of Commerce lunch Thursday, he predicted the rules will lead to greater competition in wireless communication.
Frontline Wireless will ask the FCC to reverse its decision on a wholesale requirement, and Google refused to say whether without wholesale it will participate in the auction, the companies said following the commission’s adoption of 700 MHz band rules. The FCC Tuesday (CD Aug 1 p1) said it was imposing a form of open access -- “no lock, no block” -- but it wasn’t requiring the winner of a 22 MHz block to offer spectrum access wholesale.
The FCC adopted rules for the 700 MHz band Tuesday, allowing for some open access requirements on 22 MHz of spectrum and creating a 10 MHz nationwide block for a public- private partnership to build a nationwide interoperable wireless broadband network for public safety use. The commission declined to require a wholesale requirement. The commission voted 5-0, but with FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell dissenting in part. In addition, all of the commissioners except FCC Chairman Kevin Martin concurred on various parts of it.